Is it troublesome to grind coffee beans yourself? How to choose coffee beans VS coffee powder?

What is the key to a good cup of coffee? Good brewing techniques and utensils are indispensable, but high-quality coffee beans are the most important element.

Coffee beans vs. coffee powder

After deciding to make your own coffee, the first decision you face when buying coffee is whether to buy whole coffee beans or ground coffee beans. Putting aside other personal equipment and time factors, our advice is only one: buy coffee beans, just buy coffee beans.

There is a reason for such a strong recommendation. Remember what we said before? The aroma of coffee comes from the oils that are roasted. These oils are sealed in the pores of the coffee beans. After grinding, the aroma and oils begin to evaporate, and the flavor of the brewed coffee is naturally greatly reduced.

In addition, the powder has a larger area exposed to air, making it more susceptible to moisture or deterioration. Under the same conditions, coffee beans can be stored nearly twice as long as coffee powder.

The only benefit of coffee powder is convenience. Especially if you always oversleep in the morning and don't have time to grind coffee slowly, or you haven't purchased the tools to grind coffee beans yet, coffee powder can make you enjoy a cup of good coffee quickly. If you decide to buy coffee powder, we have the following two suggestions : (1) buy about two weeks' worth of coffee at a time to preserve the flavor as much as possible, and (2) store the coffee powder in a good sealed container.

Is grinding your own coffee beans a hassle? It’s actually fun and can maintain the flavor!

Coffee beans are the form that best preserves the flavor of coffee and ensures the freshness and original taste of coffee. Some manufacturers mix coffee from different sources in the same bag of coffee powder, making it difficult for consumers to ensure the source of the coffee.

Although grinding beans is a science, trust us, once you start grinding your own beans, you will never go back to the days of coffee powder. Trying different flavors brought by brewing different powder coarseness is definitely a great pleasure of brewing coffee yourself.

If we judge by the name alone, everyone will choose the freshly roasted coffee beans or the coffee beans that have been stored for a year, which one tastes better? However, after a blind tasting, some people will definitely think that the latter tastes better. For those who choose the former, the coffee beans will deteriorate after being stored for a year, but for those who choose the latter, this period of time is the so-called bean-raising period.

Why does the flavor of roasted coffee beans change over time?

It is generally believed that this is due to the oxidation of the oil contained in the coffee beans, but this is not the main reason. Coffee beans contain many antioxidant ingredients, and the speed of oil oxidation is actually very slow.

So what changes the flavor of coffee?

Yes, it is the aroma. When the roasting is completed, the carbon dioxide evaporates and takes away part of the aroma. The remaining aroma components begin to produce chemical reactions, the total amount of aroma decreases, and the components change and deteriorate. When an unpleasant smell is produced, the coffee beans have deteriorated.

The best tasting period of coffee

Do you still look at the expiration date on the package before buying coffee? We want to tell you another important thing: the best tasting period of coffee is not equal to the expiration date. What you should pay attention to is the roasting time.

The roasting date of coffee beans represents their freshness. Usually fresh coffee beans roasted within 2-3 days are a good choice. However, freshly roasted beans are not the best flavor when purchased. In addition to the smoke from roasting and the smell of the beans themselves, coffee beans will continue to emit carbon dioxide (exhaust) for about 48 hours after they are roasted. Therefore, brewing coffee beans right after roasting will not taste good.

It is recommended to purchase about 2 weeks' worth of coffee beans at a time. It is also recommended that coffee beans stored indoors be used up within 2 weeks as this is when the flavor is at its best and most fragrant.

What is the best way to brew coffee at different growing stages?

To bring out the best flavor of coffee beans, you must calibrate and confirm the coffee grind size and adjust the amount of powder used. The longer the beans are stored, the more holes they will have. When you grind these coffee beans, they will be easier to break. At the same time, the exhaust reaction is weakened, making it easier for water to contact the coffee powder for extraction, and hot water can dissolve substances more easily.

Therefore, generally speaking, the longer the beans have been stored, the more careful you should be about over-extraction - you can try lowering the water temperature/coarsening the grind/reducing the extraction time/reducing stirring to achieve balanced extraction.

Storage of Green Coffee Beans

Green coffee beans are very stable before they are roasted and can be stored for a year under good conditions. However, if they are placed in a place with high humidity, bacteria may grow and the coffee beans will also be contaminated with bad smells in the air.

It is worth mentioning that the so-called aged beans refer to coffee beans that are stored in a low-humidity, high-altitude environment at the place of origin, and are regularly turned over to keep fresh, so as to cultivate a particularly mellow taste. This type of coffee beans tastes good, but is also very expensive. Coffee beans stored in ordinary warehouses are not aged beans, so don't be fooled.

at last,

As a food, coffee beans naturally have indicators such as "shelf life". Coffee beans are similar to seafood, the fresher the better.

The indicator for judging freshness is the "roasting date". It is recommended to buy coffee beans that have been roasted within two weeks. This is because different coffee beans and different roasting degrees will affect the best drinking period.

END!

Disclaimer: Some of the pictures in this article are from the Internet. For some of the content on the website, such as pictures, we will respect the copyright of the original work and indicate the source. However, due to the large number of pictures, some pictures and texts may not be indicated in time. Please forgive us. If the original author has any disputes, please contact the website to deal with it. Once verified, we will correct it immediately. It is compiled and edited by "咖评vdailycom". Please indicate the source when reprinting. This article is intended to spread coffee culture. If there is any infringement, please inform us to delete it . Thank you~!

Discover a wonderful cafe and open your own shop